Next Post
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken – a family favorite loved by everyone! Simple cornflake-crusted chicken baked up on a sheet pan until crispy and delicious. A double coat of crumbs is the secret. But my sauce…well it’s even more special. Sweet honey with the perfect combination of spices and sea salt. A delicious weeknight dinner to serve up to family and friends.
If there’s one recipe I was really excited to share this week, it’s this hot chicken. I know it’s not anything too out of the ordinary, but we love this recipe. My family always enjoys any kind of saucy baked chicken, but I usually do more of a buffalo-style sauce.
It’s a dinner everyone agrees on, so that makes my life easy!
Every so often, I’ll switch gears and do my version of a Nashville hot honey sauce. I’ve been making hot honey sauce for years and years, but this is my perfect sauce that came to be over trial and error.
Of course, it’s the simplest sauce, but I’ll never complain about simplicity when it comes to cooking!
Ingredients
- cornflakes
- grated parmesan cheese
- smoked paprika
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- large eggs, beaten
- tablespoons hot sauce
- chicken breast tenderloins
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
HOT HONEY
- honey
- hot sauce
- cayenne pepper
- chipotle chili powder
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- sea salt
- fresh thyme, cilantro, or parsley, for serving
Details
The coating is key for this hot honey chicken recipe. Crushed cornflakes are the star, they give the chicken that perfect crunch. I’ve tested other cereals, but everyone in the family agrees cornflakes have the best taste and crunch.
I use Nature’s Path, Organic Corn Flakes Cereal, which is naturally gluten-free and non-GMO. I order online, but if you’re looking for something in-store, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are both good options.
And of course, you can use the box of regular ole’ cornflakes we all grew up with. Either one works, I just prefer the organic, no gluten, no sugar option.
Crunch the cornflakes up in a food processor with paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Then add the parmesan cheese. It may sound odd, but the cheese adds a salty flavor that melts over the chicken tenders becoming crispy as it bakes.
Next, I dredge the chicken through eggs beaten together with hot sauce, then through the crumbs mixture. For a thicker coating, I’ll take the chicken and dip it back through the eggs, and the crumbs for a 2nd time. This takes slightly longer, but the thicker coating is always delish.
Next, olive oil on the chicken to help it crisp up…then bake! I don’t do anything fancy, just bake 25 minutes and this chicken comes out perfect every time.
Totally no fuss.
Before the chicken is done, warm the honey on the stove in a small saucepan with hot sauce, cayenne, and chipotle chili powder. The chili powder adds a very subtle smokiness to the sweet, spicy, salty sauce.
You can use as little or as much of the sauce as you’d like, but I end up drizzling every last drop of the sauce over the chicken. It’s SO DELICIOUS.
Herbs, then sea salt to finish. This really is the perfect hot honey chicken. Plus, I love how easy it is to prepare.
I serve this with sweet potato fries and my fav wintery salad. Highly recommend some crispy sweet potato fries on the side. So yummmy with the spicy sauce!
For leftovers, save the rest of your chicken in an airtight container and bake the next day or heat up in the air fryer.
Looking for more recipes? Here are a few to try:
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels
Fried Buffalo Goat Cheese Balls
Baked Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Buffalo Cauliflower with Spicy Tahini Ranch
Lastly, if you make this Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 403 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 6 cups cornflakes (use gluten free, if needed)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Hot Honey
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2-3 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1-3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- sea salt
- fresh thyme, cilantro, or parsley, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In a food processor, combine the cornflakes, parmesan, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. Pulse until you have fine crumbs. Alternatively, you can crush the crumbs in a ziplock bag by stepping on them. Dump the crumbs into a shallow bowl.3. Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the hot sauce and chicken, and toss well to coat. 3. Dredge the chicken through the crumbs, covering fully. Place on the prepared baking sheet. For a thicker coating, dip the chicken back through the eggs, then through the crumbs a 2nd time. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp all around. 4. Just before the chicken is done cooking, make the sauce. In a sauce pot, warm together the honey, hot sauce, cayenne, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder, plus a pinch of salt. 5. Drizzle the warm sauce over the chicken. Top with herbs. If the sauce thickens, warm for 5 seconds in the microwave. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on January 4, 2023
Love, Love, Love this recipe. My husband and I don’t agree on hot sauce. I’m a huge supporter of Franks red hot sauce and his argument is “that’s not a real hot sauce”. 😂 We may not agree on hot sauce, but do agree this recipe using the franks hot sauce is the BEST! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes. You help to make our weeknights much easier.
Thank you so so much Lauren! xT
Hi! Does this recipe work with chicken breasts instead? Wanna try this recipe but my family isn’t big on tenderloins
Huh. A tenderloin is a breast cut in strips. Cut your breast however you want. If you want to leave it whole, use thighs, cut into nuggets etc.
Hi Sydney! Yes, you definitely can! I would maybe just pound them out a bit so they’re thinner! xT
This looks delicious, have to try it! Would it still work if I left out the parmesan cheese?
Hi Anna! Yes, that should work just fine! xT
Not one bite was left tonight after dinner. Thank you for this delicious recipe!!
Aw thank you Billie! Love to hear that! xT
This recipe looks great!! Do you have any suggestions for how you might adjust time/temp for an air fryer?
Hi Mindy! I haven’t ever air fried this recipe before so I can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
You always take off 1/4 of time for air fryer. That is the usual rule. So this would be about 15 min depending on thickness.
Hi!
Do you recommend flattening/pounding the tenderloins to make them thinner before dredging them?
Excited to make this!
Hi Betsy! Depending on how thick your chicken breasts are, you could definitely pound them if you’re wanting them thinner! xT
Made this as a chicken sandwich. Only change to the chicken was I marinated it in buttermilk/hot sauce and pickle juice. The honey hot sauce was awesome! Delicious and will be in our rotation. Thank you for the great recipe!
Hey Emily! Thank you sooo much for trying out this recipe! Hope your New Year is off to an awesome start! xT
Delicious!
I made this tonight for my family and everyone loved it! Initially I left out the hot sauce for my daughter’s piece of chicken, and then added it in for my husband and I–we loved it! I cut the sauce recipe in half and it was enough for us. We will be making again and again!
Thank you Gillian! Happy New Year to you! xT
Oh, this was your most popular 2023 recipe for a REASON! So easy and super delicious. Will be on rotation at our house
Wow thank you SO much Emily! So glad you’re loving the hot honey chicken! xT
Loved the recipe! Super easy for those busy nights!
What would you suggest as a side with this?
Thank you!
Thanks so much Rebecca! For a side you could do mashed potatoes or some roasted potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, or a yummy side salad! You could even serve it as a sandwich with some pickles and coleslaw or something! xT
This recipe is HANDS DOWN one of the BEST! The kids and hubbie are always wanting me to make more of it! I actually think they could eat it 24/7!
If you haven’t tried it~make it!
P.S~I make a gluten free version (Gf crumbs)and it tastes amazing.
Wow thank you so much Shannon! So glad you and the fam are enjoying this chicken! xT
Can you leave out the hot sauce? I know that’s the name of the recipe but we have littles who don’t like hot.
Hi Katy! I haven’t ever tried this recipe without the hot sauce before, without the hot sauce you would basically just be a crunchy honey chicken! xT
This was a hit with my family of picky eaters. It came together so easily. I realized too late I didn’t have honey, so I substituted maple syrup and it was delicious but I’ll remember to get honey next time.
Hi Andrea! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing New Year! 🙂 xT
Excellent recipe, and easy. Thank you!
Thank you so much Leslie! xT
I’d love to make this but I’m a sucker gor marinated chicken before baking. What would you suggest marinating the chicken in?
Hi Annette! I haven’t ever tried this with marinating the chicken before but that should be fine! xT
Gee, I don’t know, maybe you should actually try a recipe that features marinated chicken.